3 More Mexflies Caught; Ground Spraying Planned
Three Mexican fruit flies have been trapped in Maywood this week, prompting agricultural officials to call for ground spraying of the pesticide malathion around trees and shrubs in several back-yards.
The latest discoveries of the crop-destroying pest brings the number of Mexflies trapped this year in Los Angeles County to eight, the state officials said Thursday.
An adult male fly was trapped on Tuesday in a persimmon tree in the 4300 block of 60th Street. Two Mexflies were trapped on Wednesday, a mated female in a lemon tree in the 4200 block of 55th Street and a unmated female in a guava tree in the 3500 block of 55th street.
Ground spraying will begin when high winds calm down, said Gera Curry, spokeswoman for the California Department of Agriculture. After malathion has been used three times over a two-week period, sterile Mexflies will be released to breed the flies out of existence.
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